


A Certain Romance

by plasticineking



Series: certain series [1]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Affairs, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, M/M, because that is what i am, mchura trash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-12
Updated: 2016-05-12
Packaged: 2018-06-08 02:03:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6834553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plasticineking/pseuds/plasticineking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“It won't get better, startin' a romance with a bottle of Jack,” he informed her, ignoring her snort, “I should know. You don't get out of a divorce without a few lost nights, and some scars.”</p><p>“McCoy, no offence but you've got no idea,” she sighed, shifting so she could look at him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Certain Romance

**Author's Note:**

> I've got this...absolutely wonderful love for Bones/Uhura (both TOS and the film saga) they're both my favourite characters...and the only couple I actually really ship on ST (the fact they've literally not said anything to each other in the movies are a crying shame!) I wrote this in 2012 (kid you not - it's on fanfic.net, lord!) I've had a complete upheaval, edited - added to... almost 1k words more, worthy of a sequel...and I'm still complete trash for them. Hope you enjoy, the other 4 people that got sucked into this mess!

** A Certain Romance **

* * *

 

Leonard McCoy was always aware of everything going on around him. The people, noises, smells and touches. Even when his own mind was filled with the haze of alcohol he was aware. He sat in a corner booth, leaning back into the comfort of the chairs and looking around the bar. There were a few people that were on shore leave with him, obvious by their uniform, but most were anonymous people enjoying themselves and the sight of the uniformed officers around them. In fact, if he was anyone else he’d wager that he would've completely missed her at the bar (not because the sight of her was one to overlook, because, well… _damn_ )

 

There was no secret about the recent – well, three months ago – and rather public break-up of Spock and Uhura. Mostly because it was really damn _public_. Spock's mother, God rest her soul, obviously never had the 'how to not break-up with someone' talk with her son – so when he walked across the bridge towards her beaconing smile and spoke in a cool voice the various problems he found in their relationship, personal things like how she had a high libido and was insatiable, too emotional and so on, it was no shock – to the non-Vulcan’s – that Uhura was (or should be) _pissed_. Although, being the cool, calm collected woman she was, not a tear was shed during his explanation, not a voice was raised, she just nodded her head swiftly said 'okay' and turned to her console, but the fire in her shining eyes told those who were aware – like McCoy – that she was anything but.

 

McCoy knew he never had the pleasure, before that night, to witness Uhura in terran clothing. Sure he'd seen her in her skirts, and _briefly_ noted that she had okay legs (as if okay was the right adjective to describe them, ever)... in the jeans, however, they looked like they went for miles. Those paired with her heels by some designer he didn't care about… and _that_ top half of her. A cream partly see-through shirt tucked into her jeans giving her an elegance that was only increased by her hair, down and wavy.

 

He didn't know Uhura well, not really, but he knew she wasn't a woman that would go to a bar to find someone to take home for the night, he just hoped she was aware, like he was, that looking like that she was going to get pestered all night. He almost got up to walk to her, some sort of chivalry, until he saw her face, it was void of emotion, much unlike her normal look and that froze him. He ordered another whiskey and kept his eyes on her.

 

–

 

McCoy hadn't loved many women, but when he did love he fell deep and hard and normally a lot more than the woman he fell for. He understood as well as anything the turmoil's of a broken heart, and as the night grew on and Uhura went onto her sixth whiskey of the within two hours, he knew _exactly_ what she was doing.  The term 'drowning your sorrows' was something that became McCoy's tagline a few years ago, in spite of knowing it was no good (he’s a doctor, dammit).

 

He realised then he had two options: he could go to Uhura, distract her from the drinks and make her see sense, or he could join her.

 

He got up and walked to the bar, ordered another whiskey for himself and one for her, she had barely glanced at him before a half-hearted 'you don't have to' exited her lips.

 

“If I only did what I had to do, I'd have lived a much happier life,” he replied, with a scowl, pushing the whiskey to her.

 

“A happy McCoy, that's something I'd kill to see.”

 

“Pot, kettle, black,” he replied swiftly, before taking a seat and turning to her, not caring that she didn't look back. “It won't get better, startin' a romance with a bottle of Jack,” he informed her, ignoring her snort, “I should know. You don't get out of a divorce without a few lost nights, and some scars.”

 

“McCoy, no offence but you've got no idea,” she sighed, shifting so she could look at him.

 

“Hey, sweetheart, so your Vulcan boyfriend dumped you in front of all your friends... I...” he paused, frowning a little deeper because…well _the fuck, when you say it like that,_ “Actually, you know? It does suck. I can't help you, I'm not here to help you...”

 

“Is that what you say to your patients?” she butted in, a slight grin on her face but he ignored her.

 

“I'm here to join you,” he ended his speech, his frown moving to a scowl. She nodded and knocked back the whiskey he gave her, pointing at the bar for another two. There was a silence as McCoy took in the sight of her. He could see by the look on her face she was trying to say something, trying to form some words, and after almost fifteen minutes of silence between them she spoke.

 

“He asked me to dinner tonight,” she smiled and shook her head, “I accepted easily, of course I did. I mean it’s not like I’ve been pining or anything but I’ve _missed_ him. It took all my strength not to... Did you know?” she asked him, and of course he did, and for the first time he cursed himself and his senses. 

 

“Yea' kid, I... sort of knew,” he finished lamely, frowning even more at the sigh that left her lips.

 

“It made me feel sick,” McCoy was about to interrupt, eyes blazing in that protective way of him, “No, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t because of who _he_ was with but because, I guess… Kirk helped me. He made me feel better after the whole fiasco. Told me that I was worth more. He fed me these... stupid damn lies because he was… fucking Spock all along.” Uhura was not one to use that particular word in such a manner, and she cringed as it left her mouth.

 

“It wasn't lies,” McCoy said after a beat, “ _you_ are better than the both of them. Hell, you're better than me because I saw the damn signs and I didn't do anything. M'sorry, kid. This is the same reason I only trust the drink. Any pain that inflicts on you, is your fault as yours alone,” Uhura nodded but remained otherwise perfectly composed, he imagined that any emotions she wanted to show she did in private – a consequence of dating a Vulcan, perhaps?

 

“I went to the restaurant, and I just saw them talking and I _knew._ Before I walked up to them, before they sat with me and told me, I knew. I could see the look in Spock's eyes that I only saw once or twice in the three years we were together. I didn't make a scene, I just sat and told them I was happy for them,” the laugh she let out was a pretty musical type of one, that McCoy was sure he hadn’t heard before, “Would you believe me if I said I am? I hadn't loved Spock long before he embarrassed me that day on the bridge. I loved his company and his friendship that he allowed me to see daily when we were together, but I didn't love _him_. I just felt the loss of... what... my best friend? My best friend the Vulcan that doesn't know that it's not okay to cheat on someone, and it's not decent to break up with someone in the middle of your workplace,” there was a blush on her cheeks as she finished, taking a sip of her drink.

 

“The only reason I knew was because I stopped seeing Jim,” McCoy stated, before quickly correcting as Uhura choked on her drink, “I mean, he stopped coming over for drinks, dammit. We weren't... We never. Hell before Spock I thought Jim was ladies only kind of guy.”

 

“Yeah?” She asked rhetorically, turning to face the bar once more, “Didn't we all?”

 

–

 

The night grew on, and the bar slightly emptied, leaving some various star fleet officers around, not wanting to return to the ship just yet, including McCoy and Uhura, although that had something to do with the fact that if they tried to move it was likely one or both would fall. His laughter echoed through the bar even as Uhura grumbled.

 

“... The amount of attention I had after that was crazy! Everyone kept eyeing me up like I was some horny she-devil that can't go a week without having sex with something. It was awful. In the mess one morning, I hadn't put my hair up and people started wolf whistling at me.”

 

“I happen to think a woman with a high libido's obviously not getting satisfied by her partner,” McCoy stated matter of factly.

 

“Hey, Spock was a...gre...oka... Spock was fine at the sex,” she scoffed, “it wasn’t…regular, enough sure…and once he knew what to…do…”

 

“ _The_ sex. You aren't the only ones doin' it. It's just sex.”

 

“Oh yeah, who's the lucky lady? Hell... or man, alien, both, all of the above? I’ve gone past the days of making assumptions.”

 

“No, no-one. Chapel tried to ask me for a date a few weeks back, I know where that woman's hands have been and trust me...” he shuddered a little dramatically. There was a large silence as Uhura looked around the bar.

 

“Leonard McCoy. CMO of the Starship Enterprise. Gorgeous, with an _amazing_ accent, a little rough around the edges, but who doesn't like a bit of rough?” She nudged him, ignoring his shocked expression, “are you seriously leading me to believe that you aren't really snatched up, that that ex-wife of yours isn't kicking herself right now?”

 

“You better believe it, Uhura.” He half grumbled, “Nobody wants this bag of bones, and I don't blame them.”

 

“Mm. For a ship that holds so many geniuses, it's sure filled with idiots,” her reply was simple, and as she got up and walked to the door, only stopping to motion for him to follow, finishing his drink before following her swiftly, he wondered if he fell into that category himself?

 

–

 

It's easy to think of having sex as just that. Sex. Nameless women, and men often meet on nights out and end doing an act that used to, many moons ago, be saved for the night of their marriage. McCoy wasn't innocent, he'd slept with women before his ex-wife, and hell, he slept with more nameless ones afterwards too, but he knew this wasn't Uhura. This wasn't the woman he knew, the one he respected was maybe going to do something she'd regret, and he wasn't sure, as he followed her through the streets, if he was strong enough to stop her.

 

“I don't want to have sex with you,” she spoke into the cold night air, not stopping her pace to look back at him. He felt relief mixed with damn right awkwardness (and yeah, some disappointment because, _fuck_ it is Uhura).

 

“Okay,” he replied easily, a blush on his cheeks he was thankful she couldn't see.

 

“You know, you've got a great smile,” she spoke softly unaware of the confusion she brought, “I just remembered the first time you stopped being the, uh, alcoholic-like guy with women issues, and you and Kirk came into the mess hall, and you were smiling. It was nice.”

 

“... Thanks,” for some reason he continued to follow her, through his confusion and alcohol induced fog, he knew that she was leading up to something.

 

“Those cadet uniforms... _Well..._ I may have been like a lost puppy following after a Commander, but I noticed you. Blue may be your colour, but I wouldn't say that red wasn't either,” she stopped suddenly turning around to face him, he jumped back, the grin as he listened to her speak falling slowly off his face.

 

“Uhura... Pardon me for not catching on, but...”

 

“I want you,” she said simply.

 

“In...the…I mean, what?” he mumbled out, a little shock rocking through him.

 

“You love Kirk,” it was a statement that left no room for McCoy to argue... mostly because it was true, “I don't know whether it's the same way I used to love Spock, or the way I love him now, but I know that you're feeling the pain like I am,” the pain of losing your best friend, because essentially, Kirk and Spock didn’t gravitate towards each other as lovers, it was friends…a bond that was so much more than either communications officer or doctor could give it was hard for either not to feel redundant, “I also know that you love old movies, and that you holovid your daughter every other night before going out for lunch with Kirk and that you can't understand why more people don't have old terran cars, and you _still_ get fascinated by space... I know you,” and wasn’t that a damn shock, because how did he not see this? “I know that you didn't notice me in any way until tonight. I know that you have a love hate relationship with broken things. You're broken. I'm broken,” she stepped forward, and maybe she had intended to come here all along, the hair…clothes, everything…maybe that had all been for… _shit_.

 

“You were gonna tell him to shove off before he beat you to it,” his statement was as bold as the one she made moments earlier. She nodded, “why?”

 

“Two months before Spock and I split, you were talking to your daughter in your office, about one day taking her to the stars... Do you remember?”

 

“Yea'... Of course” his voice caught, his eyes searched her face (it wasn’t really a specific day he could think of…heck, he promised her the same thing every time they spoke).

 

“I came to sickbay to meet Christine, and I heard your laugh...” she seemed unsure for a moment, “it was... I don't know if you'll make fun of me for this, but it was beautiful and easy. It was like second nature for you and I hated that you didn't do it for anyone else,” she turned away from him, walked to a bench nearby, he followed without much thought (of course he fucking followed), but he sat with enough distance that he could turn to watch her.

 

“Nyota,” he tried her name on his tongue. Her head shot up and looked at him, a laugh escaping her lips.

 

“I don't know whether it's your accent or...” he could see a little blush under the street lights, even as she laughed some more (he wondered if it was less of an amused laugh, and more of a immature ‘I like it when you say my name’ giggle, he assumed – hoped? – the latter) and he couldn't help but smile, “I don't love you.”

 

“But you could,” he finished for her after a moment.

 

“Yeah... I really, really could, fall stupidly in love with you,” she shook her head, “but you couldn't,” she ended with a sigh.

 

“Who said?” He was _angry_ (and that was almost laughable, because a few hours ago he wouldn’t even have thought that someone like her would even think of him), “I don't have a clue what went on tonight. I don't know how I didn't notice you noticing me. I don't know if you're in love with Spock, or just miss him or if you don't feel anything for him. I don't know if you're just saying a load of shit just to keep me here for another reason that... _I don't know_. But I do know that... I could love you just as much as you think you could love me,” he huffed and turned away, conveying his offence.

 

“The truth? I do love Spock, not the way I _did_ , but I do. I knew you were coming here tonight, I heard a conversation you had with Jim, I was always going to come here – I just didn’t know what was going to happen at dinner, it derailed my initial completely sober plans to talk to you. This isn’t me thinking ‘Hey, Spock’s with Jim… why don’t I get with McCoy!’ – you’re attractive, aesthetically pleasing a certain Vulcan would say, and I’ve _noticed_ …and it’s not just external. Plus, I have a thing for accents,” she ended with a breath and he knew if he waited long enough, she'd start talking again, so he turned and faced her attempting to think of the right thing to say.

 

“Okay, well... that's good because... it is.”

 

_Well, bingo, 10/10 for effort!_

“Oh Doctor McCoy, you have such a way with words,” she fanned herself dramatically, with a slight laugh. “I'm going home now, and by home I mean the apartment that I have here. Do you want to come with me?”

 

_Hell yes, let me just catch up to the fact that you’re basically offering me a chance at a relationship with you, when I can count on one hand the amount of times you’ve called me by my first name._

 

“If I say no?” is what he actually replied after a moment, watching her stand.

 

“If you say no, you say no. This night will have never happened,” she walked off into the distance, and he watched her from the bench, shifting somewhat uncomfortably.

 

“I goddamn hate ultimatums,” he grumbled to himself, turning his body away from the direction of her folding his arms over his chest. After a few seconds, he looked to where she had gone and found that she was growing smaller the further away she got…and he was man enough to admit he felt _panic_ at the thought of her leaving that night… He made a decision, groaning as he stood up and ran to follow her, cautiously aware of the alcohol in his system and the _amazing_ turn this whole night had taken.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I have started writing a companion piece to this, that features spock/kirk heavily with them... 'cause I don't want it to come across that they're like...the bad guys in this, just the situation was shitty and these two just miss their buds.


End file.
